


The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

by clutchesofaname



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:45:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clutchesofaname/pseuds/clutchesofaname
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nepeta is hunting, and Eridan kills her rightful prize.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

                A figure clad in green scampered down the forest paths. Claws extended, poised to attack any moment, she paused and checked the trail. Still red-hot. She refused to give up on this particular prey. It had evaded her for a while, always barely within reach before pushing itself just enough to get away-  
                There it was.  
                It came up to about her waist, with thick muscle all along its legs and torso. It had a short, stumpy neck, connected to a flat face. Its tail was long and elegant, the fur from it trailing on the forest floor. Nepeta grinned to herself. Finally, he would be hers.  
                She took one; two, three steps forward, velvet tread not even crunching the fallen leaves. The wind was favorable; it couldn’t even smell her. Crouching lower, she poised to jump, and-  
                It darted away. She sprang into action, not caring about the crunch of the twigs or leaves or branches, all that mattered was finally catching this damn-  
                It slid down a hill, and she was following, holding out her arms for balance, eyes squinting against the breeze stinging them. Level forest floor came back, and she was off again, weaving through the trees after this beast, breathing coming in sharp bursts, stinging her chest.  
                The branches scratched and stung her cheeks. Leaves caught in her hat, and she was sure they were in her tail, too. She recognized the beast slowing down, preparing for the final burst. Now was her chance.  
                The trees were thinning out, a slight slope returning. There were mostly big trunks, fallen surely from lightning storms, to hurdle over, roll under, roll over, all was fair in the hunt.  
                She could smell salt in the air. She was chasing it straight to the sea- no, surely it couldn’t swim, there wasn’t a single way it could swim. The muscles were best suited for running, not swimming. She’d have to watch and prepare to go one way or the other. She frowned, remembering how hard it was to chase on the beach.  
                It opened in front of her, a wide-expanse of off-white sand. The beast kicked up its fair share of sand, heading straight for the sea- oh, please, no, don’t let it go into the ocean-  
                She lunged, hoping to at least grab its tail. A grunt escaped her lips as she enclosed her fingers around the tail- the fur was so thick!- but it also kicked off again, heading towards the ocean at double time, and taking her with it! She was torn- she despised getting wet, yet she could _not_ lose it. This was her moment, this was- _PWOOM!_  
                Exploding in her face. She was halted only inches before the water stopped, with a headless beast her ears ringing. She sat up, releasing her prize and pawing at her ears. She wasn’t deaf. But she was prizeless. Frowning, she kicked sand.  
                A shadow overcame her as she was testing her other ear. She could make out a click, and a sigh. “An what are you doin’ here, exactly?”  
                His accent grated at her ears. And the arrogance in it was enough to make her want to call it quits. She sighed and looked up, the limp body in her hand. An eyebrow was quirked.  
                “You were tryin’ to hunt _that?_ With nothin’ more than your weird-ass gloves?” He started laughing, hands tightening on the reins he put on his lusus. She couldn’t tell what annoyed her more, the high-pitched warble coming from his mouth now, or the warble coming from his mouth before. Nepeta moved her hands to her hips, staring at him defiantly.  
                “I’ll have you know, I have successfully hunted _many_ beasts- most with only my hands! This is nothing, believe me-“  
                “Which is why I had to finish the job myself?” He hopped down from his lusus. She sighed, not daring to back down.  
                “Which is _why_ you stole my kill. I had it purrfectly under control until you showed up.” She retracted her claws. He tut-tutted in response.  
                “In control my ass. Now, if you don’t mind, hand my kill over.” He held out a single hand, his expression that of disdain. In response, she shook her head.  
                “No way, I saw it furst! It’s mine!”  
                “Cut the act, Nep, it’s my kill an you know it. An stop it with the puns, for the love of Gog.” He stepped closer, opening and closing his hand in rapid succession. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, twisting it.  
                “Listen Ampurra, this is my kill,” she hissed as he squeaked in pain. “And furthermore, I won’t tolerate you taking this away from me. So drop the act and give me what’s rightfully mine.”  
                He shook his head. “I need this for more reasons than you know. So if you could just-“  
                “You have the sea, I have the land. Hunt there.” She threw him backwards onto the sand. He looked up at her, eyes wide, mouth slack.  
                “What do you-“  
                “Enough with the questions!” She hauled her prize over her back by the tail. She looked to the edge of the forest- sure enough, Pounce was waiting. She swallowed, scampering off.  
                He watched her run back to the forest- there was her lusus. His finger tightened around the trigger, but he thought better of it. Kitty has claws. He doesn’t want to see the wrong end of those claws.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the egging on of my friend Kaylee, who couldn't see the glory that is Erinep blackrom. I wrote this to convert her but it never made it out of my folder until now.


End file.
